Car-coupling.



W. .KELSO.

CAR COUPLING. APPLICATION 'HLED JULY 25.1915.

1,297,862. v Patented Mar. 18,1919.-

W. KELSO.

CAR COUPLING. APPLICATION FILED JULY 25.1915.

1,297,862. Patented Mar, 18,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET W. KELSO.

CAR COUPLING.

" non FILED Y APPLh, 5. I916. 1,297,862. Patented Mar. 18,1919.

3 EEEE TS EEEEE 3- #NITED srnrns rairnur WE WILLIAM KELSO, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIG-NOB TO THE MGCONWAY 85 TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVAN IA.

CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 18, 1919.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM KELso, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gar-Couplings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it a-ppertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to car couplers of the Master Car Builders type. While the features of improved construction hereinafter described and claimed are not limited in their application to a form of coupler involving a horizontally rotating knuckleopener operated by a rearwardly rotatable lock, yet they are of special advantage when embodied in a coupler of that type (for example, the coupler that is now designated as the M. C. B. experimental standard D coupler) since they improve the mechanism, render its operation more certain, and facilitate the assembly of the parts which operate within the coupler head. Accordingly, my improvements have been illustrated in their adaptation to a coupler of the character referred to.

In the proposed M. C. B. standard D coupler the removal or loss of the knuckle opening member, which might occur from various causes, permits the look when in locked position to fall forward and under the front wall of the coupler head so that it becomes jammed andcan not be moved to unlocked position either by means of the top-operating lock lifter or by means of the underneath release rigging. Moreover, the

absence of the knuckle-opener renders it impossible to retain the lock in lock-set position. These objections are overcome and further advantages are attained by my invention, as will hereinafter appear.

Generally stated the principal feature of my invention involves such a construction and relativearrangement of the head, knuckle, lock, and knuckle-opener of a car coupler that the lock may be normally maintained in lockset position by means of the knuckle-opener, but being adapted to engage and be maintained in lockset position by the coupler head in the event of the loss or removal of the knuckle-opener. A further feature of'my invention relates to the lock actuating mechanism and its relation to the lock and coupler head.

In the drawings illustrating my invention, the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims,

Figure 1 is a view, partly in vertical section and partly in elevation, of a car coupler embodying my invention, the parts being Y M, Fig. 2, looking forwardly.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the lock.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section, taken on the line 66, Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3, but illustrating the locked relation of the parts when the knuckle opener is removed.

Fig. 8 is a view corresponding to Fig. 7, but illustrating the lock-set position of the lock.

In the drawings, 1 is the coupler head and 2 is the knuckle pivotally mounted thereon. The knuckle is restrained from outward rotation by means of the lock 3 which is adapted to move upwardly to unlock the knuckle and then to rotate rearwardly so as to force the horizontally rotating knuckleopener lever 4 to rotate and swing the knuckle 2 to open position if the knuckle is free to rotate. To enable the lock to swing rearwardly in the operation of actuating the knuckle opener 4, it is provided upon its forward face with a lug 5 which is adapted to come into contact with and rock or turn upon a projection 6 within the coupler head in vertical alinement therewith. The downwardly projecting portion 7 of the lock which engages the knuckle-opener is preferably provided with a slot 8 which is adapted to form a connection with an underneath release rigging mechanism whereby the lock may be actuated. On its rear face and toward the knuckle side the lock 3 is provided with a shoulder .9 which, as clearly shown in l igs. 3 and i, rests upon the upper surface of the short arm of the pivoted knuckleopener when the lock 3 is in locked position and the knuckle opener present. Vertically below the shoulder 9 the lock is provided with another shoulder 10 which, when the lock 3 is raised to unlocked position is adapted to be seated upon the upper surface of the knuckleopener, to thereby retain the lock in lock-set position permitting subsequent outward rotation of the knuckle.

Below the shoulder 9, but toward the guard arm side of the coupler, the lock 3 is provided on its rear face with a shoulder 11, and somewhat lower down with another shoulder 12. When the knuckle opener is not present in the coupler and the parts are in locked position, as illustrated in Fig. 7, the shoulder 11 upon the lock engages the lower wall of the coupler head 1. The lock is thus arrested before it moves downwardly far enough to become disengaged at its upper end from the lug 1-3 on the coupler head, which lug, by engaging the upper end of the lock, prevents the latter from tipping or falling forwardly through the mouth of the coupler head, l lhen the knuckleopener is absent and the lock 3 is raised to unlocked position, as illustrated in Fig. 8, it swings rearwardly under the influence of gravity and its shoulder 12 seats upon the lower wall of the coupler head 1, the shoulder 12 thus cooperating with the coupler head to maintain the lock in lock-set posit-ion even though the knuokleopener be not present.

The lock is formed with an upwardly and rearwardly opening slot 1st, and is provided with a. transversely extending pivot pin or pivot member 15 that is located above and to one side of the center of gravity of the. lock. The lock actuating member 16 which projects through the upper wall of the coupler head is formed at its lower end with a hooked portion 17 adapted to enter the slot H of the lock, and to pass beneath the pivot member 15, thus operatively connecting the lock 3 and the lifter 16 in a manner permitting them to turn with respect to each othe during the knuckle opening rotation of the lug. The lower end of the member 16 is also preferably fashioned with a shoulder 18, which, when the parts are in locked position, extends under a shoulder 19 upon the interior of the coupler head 1, thereby preventing the lock "from accidentally noving upwardly to unlocked position. nen the lock 3 is designedly moved to unlocked position by pulling upwardly upon the lock-actuating means 16. the shoulder 18 is withdrawn from beneatn the shoulder 19 permitting the lock 3 to be moved to unlocked po. tion. The shoulders 18 and constitute what known as a lock-to-the-lock. To insure the maintenance of the asse' ibled relation of he lock 3 and lock-actuzw member 7 r.

parses latter is provided with a lug or shoulder 20 which is adapted to engage the forward face of the lug 19 of the coupler head when the parts are in locked position and whether the knuckle opener be present or absent.

To facilitate the assembly of the lock 3 and lifter 16 within the coupler head, the wall of the slot ll farthest from the knuckle is preferably beveled, as at 21, the slot ll being thus made of flaring form. This'fiaring of the slot 1% permits the lock and the lock actuating member to assume an angular re lation with respect to each other transversely of the coupler head when those parts are being either brought into assembled relation within the head or being disengaged and removed.

ll hen the knuckle 2 has been removed from the coupler head, the lock 3 and litter 16 may be removed by shifting or turning the upper end of the lock toward the knuckle side of the coupler head until its upper end is moved laterally clear of the projection 13 upon the head, after which it may be disengaged from the litter and removed through the mouth of the coupler head. To permit it to clear the adjacent wall 22 on the coupler head during this disassembling operation, the rear end of the lock on the side adjacent the knuckle is curved or beveled, asat 23. The assembly of the parts within the coupler head is effected by performing these operations in reverse order.

I claim:

1. A car coupler having a head, a knuckle, a lock for said knuckle, and means for opening said knuckle, said lock being adapted to be normally maintained in lockset position by said knuckle-opening means and being adapted to be engaged and maintained in lock-set position by said head upon the loss or removal of said knuckle-opening means.

2. A car coupler having a head, a knuckle, a lock for said knuckle. and means for opening said knuckle, said lock being provided with means whereby it may engage and be supported in lock-set position by said knuckle-opening means, and being provided with means whereby it may be maintained in lock-set position independently of said knuckle-opening means.

8. A car coupler having a head, a knuckle, a lock for said knuckle, primary lock-set means normally operating to maintain said lock in unlocked position while the knuckle is in coupled position, and secondary lockset means operative in the absence of said )riniary n'ieans to maintain said lock in elevated position, whereby the knuckle may move from closed to open position.

A car coupler having a head, a knuckle,

said knuckle-opening device when the parts are in locked position, said head being pro vided with means for preventing the lock from tilting forwardly when in said locked position, and means operative upon the removal of the knuckle-opening device for maintaining the operative relation of the lock and the means for preventing tilting thereof. I

5. A car coupler having a head, a knuckle, a slidable and tiltable lock insertible and removable through the mouth in the head through which the tail of the knuckle enters, a knuckle-opening device adapted to support said lock in locked position, said lock being adapted to be supported by said head when the knuckle-opening device is'removed, and said lock in either of its said positions having overlapping engagement withsaid head preventing the lock from tilting forwardly through the mouth of the head.

6. A car'coupler having a head, a knuckle, a lock which is rotatable to lock-set position under the influence of gravity, lock-set means for maintaining said lock in unlocked position, a knuckle-opening device, and means for actuating said lock to cause it to assume an unlocked position, said lock being provided with a pivot member located above and out of vertical alinement with the center of gravity of said lock and being formed with a slot into which said pivot member extends and being tiltable to actuate said knuckleopening device, and said lock-actuating means having a portion projecting outwardly through the upper wall of the coupler head and being provided with a hook extending into said slot and cooperating with said pivot member to movably connect the said lock-actuating means to said lock.

- 7. A car coupler having a head, a knuckle, a lock insertible and removable through the mouth in the head through which the tail of the knuckle enters and formed with a slot and with a pivot pin extending transversely of said slot, and a lock-actuating member extending into said slot and having a hooked portion adapted to engage said pivot pin to operatively connect said lock and lock-actuating member, and hax ing also a portion which is adapted'to engage said head to thereby prevent said lock from accidentally assuming an unlocked position.

8. A car coupler havlng a head, a knuckle, a lock having a slot adapted to receive a lockactuating member, and a lock-actuatin g member extending into said slot and movablv connected to said lock, said slot being flared to permit the lock and the lock-actuating member to assume an angular relation with respect to each, other transversely of the coupler head, to thereby facilitate the assembly of the parts within said head.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM KELSO. 

